Wipeout has a similar group, and they’re known as the Black and Blue Crew. ABC has started to profile them in a series of webisodes. They’re introduced in the first video, which includes behind-the-scenes footage that shows them testing obstacles and reveals what’s outside of the view of the camera, including the people who squirt or throw things at contestants as they run through the qualifier.

In this episode, they test obstacles and act as “test dummies,” but also do things like rescue contestants trapped underwater:

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Andy Dehnart is a journalist who has covered reality television for more than 15 years and created reality blurred in 2000. A member of the Television Critics Association, his writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Playboy, Buzzfeed, and many other publications. Andy, 37, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. More about reality blurred and Andy.

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